Note: This article has been co-authored by Navneet Sharma (@inavaneet) and Ankit Jain (@indiantweeter).
“Well, the rebel has arrived”, paints Kunal Kapoor on the walls of an old fort. The year was 2006 and the scene was from a movie ‘Rang De Basanti’ which went on to give the youth its anthem: Lose Control. The youth has a distinct character. It has always been attracted and infatuated by the idea of revolution and challenging the status quo. And being a rebel “for with a cause” has been the DNA of youth since time immemorial.
But, this very idea of revolution tends to misguide the youth when captured by the vested interest. The current protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is perfect example of youth being misled in the name of revolution by vested political interest.
A law that tends to provide support and relief to persecuted minorities from the three neighbouring Islamic countries, enacted after being duly passed by parliament after following all procedures established by law has become a reason for nation-wide protest because of selfish political interest that sees it as an opportunity to uproot a democratically elected government and that too in the name of democracy.
The narrative underlining the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a labyrinth of concocted facts, false rhetoric and an extremely fake concern for democracy. It is nothing more than a political opportunism in its worst form that is not shying away from using students as guinea pigs. It is a political conspiracy hatched by those who were snatched of their “entitlement” after the country choose to honour its democratic ethos in real terms in 2014. To understand this one just needs to unravel the happenings in the last one month and compare it with other student protests.
In 2016 following the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar arrest (for indulging in anti-national activities) there was a huge unrest in the JNU campus and some other campus across the country. There were usual rallies, anti-government sloganeering but none of it manifested in violence of the kind that was witnessed during protests in Jamia Millia Islami in Delhi this month.
Similarly, following the death of Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad some of the university witnessed protests. But, here again at no occasion any violence, leave alone the kind that was witnessed in Jamia Millia Islami was registered.
It needs to be highlighted that when patrol-bombs replaces placards, it is no more a student protest, it is by all means a political conspiracy.
When a group of men and women resort to extreme measures like arson and violence, targeting police and state, it cannot claim it to be a student protest. It is by all means an act of terror and anyone resorting to act of terror will be dealt by the state in the same fashion as terrorists are dealt with. They cannot claim the compassion and courtesy, safety and safeguards provided to a bona fide students.
The second strand of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a complete disregard of minimum decorum required for a dignified dissent. How, would you react when you see a millennial protesting against a law holds a placard that reads, “Are you still virgin? Me too, let’s fuck the government”.
You know the protest has lost the plot.
State of #CAA_NRC protestors pic.twitter.com/pZtrCGUcn0
— Rishi Bagree ऋषि ?? (@rishibagree) December 26, 2019
The third strand of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) manifest in extreme hypocrisy and doublespeak. How do you react to the fact that those happily seeking your identity proof for entering a comedy show rants that “Hum kagaz nahin dikhayenge” to the government?
The fourth strand of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is underlined by extremely laughable ignorance of protesters which reminds of the comedy scene from the Hindi film ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ in which protestors are clueless about their demands and reason for demonstration.
How do one react to full-time celebrities and part-time bleeding heart activists protesting against a laws that they are completely ignorant about?
During a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) when a reporter asked Actor Farhan Akhtar about the reason for the protest he responded by saying “If you go into the details, it looks like there can be something in there… If everything was okay, why would so many people be concerned?”
But among these various strands that include laughable ignorance, indecency, pitiable hypocrisy, the most dangerous is the first one that tries to masquerade this political conspiracy as a “youth unrest” or a student protest. And exposing it should be a duty of every youth of the country.
